A scalpel is a small and sharp bladed instrument commonly used for surgery, anatomical dissection, and various arts and crafts (craft knife or hobby knife). Scalpels typically have two parts, a cylindrical body (often flat), and a short blade held in a cavity in the body. Scalpels may be disposable or replaceable. A disposable scalpel is configured with a permanent blade, often for single use, after which the entire instrument may be discarded. Re-usable scalpels have removable blades, to replace the blade after single surgical use, or when the blade becomes dull. The blade may be changed manually, or by a specialized machine that removes the old blade to replace it with a new one, and that in surgical applications may safely retain the old blade. Such machines can put stress on the blade holding structure, in addition to the stress occurring in normal use. Due to inadequate, inconsistent or prematurely deteriorating holding power of the blade holding structure during use or during blade replacement, known structures to hold a blade may not provide adequate holding force. They may allow unacceptable blade movement or even allow the blade to fall out during use or during replacement, e.g. during processing in a machine that replaces the blade. The problem can be exacerbated by tolerances in production of the scalpel or the replacement blades e.g. by tolerances in the dimensions of the blade (width, height), of the body of the scalpel, or of other scalpel parts that affect the fit of the blade. A suitable blade holding structure would accommodate such tolerances and still provide sufficient and consistent holding power as well as durability during use and during blade replacement, to avoid creating potentially hazardous situations. For example, a loose blade may compromise the precision of the cut, or worse, the blade may fall out entirely during use of the scalpel or replacement of its blade.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a re-usable cutting device that securely holds the blade and prevents it from loosening or falling out during regular use and during repeated replacements of the blade. For example, there is a need for a cutting device such as a re-usable scalpel that securely holds a replacement blade even if the blade width or height has a degree of tolerance. Further, there is a need for a cutting device such as a re-usable scalpel that is sufficiently durable to tolerate the repeated stress that blade replacement machines can put on the scalpel structure while maintaining a consistent holding power for each new blade. Still further, there is a need for such a cutting device such as a scalpel that exhibits these features when used with replacement blades that have a degree of tolerance in their width or height. The exemplary disclosed method and apparatus is directed to overcoming one or more of the shortcomings set forth above and/or other deficiencies in existing technology.